The judge has no authority to block deportation. It is outside his perview.. Time for impeachment and removal proceedings.
The Judge does have all the power over a court case in his courtroom. The Defendant is who they want to Deport, while the trial is ongoing. In other words, the ICE agents are threatening to interrupt the trial with a deportation. Thus making the defendant incapable of getting a fair trial, and facing his accusers. All according to the Constitution. The Judge is absolutely one hundred percent right that it is unacceptable. It is one hundred percent unconstitutional. Further, the Judge handed a free out to the Prosecutors. That free out was simple. All the Prosecutors had to do was drop the charges.
That’s it. Just drop the charges. Then the Judge has no legal standing to stop any deportation. But the Prosecutors, Federal Prosecutors, did not take that opportunity. They could have dropped the charges, and deported the guy, but that is not what they wanted. Why not? Why challenge the authority of the Judge? Showboating sure.
If ICE does deport the man, then the Judge is well within his rights to hold the ICE agents in contempt, and hold them in jail until they can produce the man for the Judge, in his courtroom. That could go on for quite a while. Contempt in this case means that they can hold you indefinitely until you comply with the Judge’s orders, Contempt Confinement is Coercive, not punitive. Plenty of Reporters have been held for years, or longer, until they named the source of a story, see Scooter Libby. Right now, a former cop is in jail, for refusing to comply with a Judge’s order, and has been for more than three years. He won’t comply, and the judge won’t release him until he does.
So yes, if ICE deports the guy in defiance of the Judge’s order, then they can be held in jail until they produce the Defendant, or the US Attorney drops the charges. Personally, I’d love to see it. Because when it comes to pissing contests, not many win against a Judge.
